Jonathan Prater

Today we’re with Donationcoder’s NANY participant Jonathan Prater.

Q. Hi, tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m 31 years old, and I live in Maryland. I work as a computer technician during the day, and in my off-hours I do development stuff and run a highly-profitable business. I’ve been married for 5-and-a-half years.

Q. How did you first get started in computers? Did you teach yourself your skills or learn from school/university ?
As a kid, I loved playing with computers. My family had a Commodore 64, and I was on it all the time. I understood computers really well and learned to use them easily. I didn’t get into programming and development until I was in high school and took a class in Pascal. When I went to college, I started as a chemistry-major, but I switched to computer science when I realized that I loved computers more than I did chemistry. I still love computers and plan to work with them the rest of my life. 🙂

Q. Do you have any other projects on the go?
I’m working on my Library Management System, of course, and I’m busy thinking about some other stuff, too. Two games, currently, which are in the design phase.

Q. Which tool do you use for creating apps?
I do all my coding in Python, HTML, Javascript, or Powershell. For Python, if I’m working on an actual desktop app, I use PyScripter. I like its style and its interface, and it’s the only one that I’ve found with code completion that works across modules. If it’s a GUI app, I also use wxFormBuilder for the GUI design. On Python-based web-apps…it depends what framework I’m writing for. My Library Management System uses web2py, which has its own browser-based IDE. If it’s not behaving for whatever reason, I use Notepad++, which is an outstanding text editor. I use that editor for editing HTML and Javascript, too. For Powershell, I use the script editor that ships with Powershell itself or Notepad++.

Q. How much time do you usually spend on Donationcoder & on computers?
On computers in general? When am I not on a computer, besides when I’m sleeping or eating? 😀 I’m probably on DC about 2 or 3 times a day, just checking for new useful stuff. It’s an awesome site with an awesome community. 🙂

Q. Do you have any hobbies and interests away from the desk?
Reading books, thinking about my next project.

Q. If you could name five must-have apps you use everyday, what would they be?
Notepad++, FindAndRunRobot, FireFox, Autohotkey, ProcessExplorer

Q. Your favourite stuff from: Food/ T.V.Show/ Music/ Books/ Website?
Music: Casting Crowns and Third Day (Christian Worship groups)
Books: My favorite authors are currently David Weber (sci-fi) and Bryan Davis (Christian fantasy).
Website: I can only list one? 🙂 In no particular order – Donationcoder.com :D, Userfriendly.org, Facebook.

Q. Where do you see yourself in future ?
I plan to retire within 5 years so I can devote more time to other endeavors. I’ve got a lot of computer projects I want to work on, and I’m looking forward to having more time to work on them. 🙂